1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates broadly to abrading tools and more specifically to electrically powered abrading tools used in automobile body repair work, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A variety of electrically powered abrading tools are known to the trade. It is also known to provide a portable abrading tool driven by a hand electric drill. More specifically, the art has provided an electric hand drill driven split cylinder adapted to be expanded to receive and tightly grip a cylindrical abrasive sleeve. Representative prior art is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 819,578, 2,554,763 and 3,381,418, all of which are concerned with portable abrading tools powered with an electric drill. Other U.S. patents related to this general subject matter include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,853,838, 3,510,989 and 3,596,411.
In spite of the very substantial interest among body shop operators to have an abrading tool which can be quickly connected to and used with an ordinary electric hand drill without impairing the normal purposes of the hand drill, such an apparatus has not come into wide-spread use in the trade. More expensive types of abrading tools in which the motor unit and abrading unit are designed as a unified electrical apparatus are available but such devices generally have no utility except for abrading. One of the primary deficiencies in the prior art is believed to be the fact that abrading tools designed to be driven by an electric hand drill have not provided a practical means for expanding and contracting the driven cylinder over which the abrading sleeve is placed. Therefore, prior art abrading tools driven by electric hand drills have not come into popular use even though there is a strong demand for such a tool.